A Cook County judge gave an initial green light Wednesday to a lawsuit accusing former WTMX 101.9 FM morning host Eric Ferguson of coercing sexual favors from an assistant producer early in her career and retaliating against her for years after she refused to resume the brief sexual relationship, reports The Chicago Tribune.
In denying Ferguson’s motion to dismiss, Judge Daniel Kubasiak found the lawsuit’s claims at face value were sufficiently pleaded and allowed the civil proceeding to continue. Ferguson has until Jan. 12 to respond to the allegations raised by his former assistant producer, Cynthia DeNicolo.
DeNicolo was laid off from 101.9 FM in May 2020. In her lawsuit, filed a year later, she accused Ferguson of sexual misconduct and alleged he blocked raises and promotions throughout her 20-year career before orchestrating her dismissal.
Ferguson, 54, denies the allegations. Besides raising various legal challenges, including one based on the statute of limitations, his legal team argued in its motion to dismiss the lawsuit that DeNicolo cannot sue Ferguson because she signed a separation agreement that included a clause barring her from any future claim against management “in return for a substantial severance package.”
His lawyers argued that the general release from future litigation includes Ferguson who, though not named in the document, is described by DeNicolo as “all powerful over her career and advancement,” and therefore within the scope of management.
In a six-page written ruling allowing the suit to proceed, the judge punted the issue for now. He wrote that “whether (DeNicolo) did release all claims against (Ferguson) raises issues of fact that warrant further discovery.”
Ferguson, DeNicolo
Ferguson’s attorney, Peter Donati, said Wednesday the judge’s ruling allowing the lawsuit to proceed “is not a ruling on the truth or falsity of (DeNicolo’s) allegations. The judge is simply saying discovery will be needed before he can decide whether her claims will be permitted to go to trial.”
Ferguson was sidelined from the morning program he led for 25 years in late October after the Tribune reported a month earlier that DeNicolo, 43, had sued him earlier in the year.
More allegations have followed from three other women who used to work at The Mix, including from Ferguson’s former co-host Melissa McGurren, who said in court filings that she left the show after he created an unbearably hostile work environment.
The women allege the management of 101.9 FM protected Ferguson because of the popularity of his show. Station management initially said Ferguson would be off the air through October. Then, in late October, a statement from Ferguson was circulated to station employees announcing he planned to “step away from the show” and felt “energized to move forward and defend myself against claims made against me and the station and look forward to seeing them through to their conclusion.
DeNicolo contends Ferguson orchestrated her dismissal using COVID-19 as a pretext nearly 16 years after she stopped providing oral sex about twice a month in 2004 in response to Ferguson’s demands, for which he allegedly used the code words, “I need a backrub.”
Melissa McGurren
She alleges Ferguson taunted her with the phrase throughout her tenure at the station. He also berated her in front of other workers and demanded personal favors, such as pressuring her to babysit his children for a decade beginning in 2003, leading her to be known around The Mix as “Eric’s babysitter,” the lawsuit said.
In Wednesday’s ruling, Kubasiak also ruled the lawsuit is not barred by a statute of limitations because DeNicolo alleged a pattern of misconduct that continued over several years and not just when the alleged sexual relationship ended in 2004. The complaint also accuses Ferguson of intentional infliction of emotional distress.
A representative for Hubbard Radio Chicago, which owns and operates The Mix, has said DeNicolo was laid off as part of companywide cuts described as a “response to the challenges presented by COVID-19.” Hubbard said it dismissed a dozen employees across its stations, which also include WDRV-FM 97.1 and adult contemporary WSHE-FM 100.3.
The company has said it immediately investigated DeNicolo’s allegations and “found no evidence to corroborate allegations of illegal workplace conduct,” according to an earlier statement.
UPDATED 11:30 AM 12/23/21 AND REVISED: Because of an editing error the original posting today, referenced action dating back to March 2021. We regret the error. The story has been updated:
The FCC has granted an iHeartMedis remedial petition filed in March 2021. The petition requested specific approval for the 6.8% equity and 8% voting interests in iHeart held by GMEI, a private limited company organized under the laws of the Bahamas, and related foreign entities and individuals. The petition also sought advance approval for GMEI and the GMEI Reporting Persons to increase their equity and voting interests in iHeart up to a non-controlling amount not to exceed 14.99%.The Commission found that it will serve the public interest to grant the petition, subject to the speified conditions.
The conditions include, but are not limited to:
Suspend all voting rights associated with any stock held in the Company, directly and/or indirectly, by the GMEI Investors, until and unless the FCC releases a declaratory ruling granting specific approval for each of the GMEI Investors to hold, directly and/or indirectly, more than 5% of the equity and/or voting interests in the company.
Direct that the Company will not to allow any GMEI Investor to do any of the following, until and unless the FCC releases a declaratory ruling granting specific approval for each of the GMEI Investors to hold, directly and/or indirectly, more than 5% of the equity and/or voting interests in the company.
Determine not to permit any employee, agent or affiliate of the GMEI Investors to be an officer, director, employee or consultant of the Company (including subsidiaries and affiliates of the Company) until and unless the FCC releases a declaratory ruling granting specific approval or each of the GMEI Investors to hold, directly and/or indirectly, more than 5% of the equity and/or voting interests in the company.
A new research memo shared first with FOX Business on Wednesday suggests that radio ads played an outsized role in arguably the most crucial election of 2021.
Research published by the Center for Campaign Innovation spotlights that radio ads by Virginia Republican gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin – although a smaller investment than TV or digital – played a disproportionate role in helping to boost the candidate to narrow victory in November over former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe.
The memo by the non-profit group that trains and guides conservative candidates through the digital transformation of politics, notes that Youngkin basically had the radio airwaves to himself until mid-September and argues that made a big difference in a race with national implications that grabbed attention from coast to coast.
TV has long been the king when it comes to political advertising, with digital growing in importance with each election cycle. But Center for Campaign Innovation director Eric Wilson noted that "Youngkin pressed his advantage early on radio which also boosted his TV and digital advertising."
"Effective campaigns follow the data and our research shows that radio still has a place in campaigns fighting a fragmented media landscape," Wilson, who served as digital director on Sen. Marco Rubio's 2016 presidential campaign and in Virginia on Ed Gillespie's 2014 Senate and 2017 gubernatorial campaigns, highlighted.
Youngkin, a first-time candidate who hailed from the business wing of the GOP, became the first Republican to win a gubernatorial election in a dozen years in Virginia, a one-time battleground but still competitive state. And the race was seen as a key barometer ahead of next year's midterms, when Republicans aim to win back control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, where the Democrats hold razor-thin majorities.
The Center for Campaign Innovation touted that their "research from Virginia provides valuable insights for campaigners heading into the 2022 midterms as they plan their paid media budgets."
They argued that campaigns should follow an "all of the above" advertising strategy "because the average voter’s attention is so fragmented, no single platform will provide the reach needed to meaningfully move numbers."
And they spotlighted what’s been argued for years in the world of campaign politics, that "while TV’s reach remains high, radio and digital have greater efficiency and ballot movement for those they do reach"
The group pointed to polling that they commissioned in September and at the end of the election. The first survey was conducted when Youngkin had the radio airwaves to himself, and it suggested that Youngkin's "early radio investment was a key component of closing McAuliffe's early lead."
U.S. lawmakers are launching an investigation into the role of events-promoting company Live Nation Entertainment at rapper Travis Scott's concert at the Astroworld Festival in Houston last month, when 10 people died in a stampede, reports Reuters.
U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney, chairwoman of the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Representatives James Comer, Kevin Brady, Al Green, and Bill Pascrell Jr. sent a letter to Live Nation President Michael Rapino for information regarding the events of the Astroworld Festival on Nov. 5, the congressional committee said.
The 10 people who died in the stampede accidentally suffocated, a medical examiner ruled earlier this month. read more
The victims died of compression asphyxia, essentially crushed to death in the crowd surrounding the stage. Another 300 people were injured among the audience of 50,000 people.
Victims were trapped and hemmed in by barricades on three sides, unable to escape. Eyewitnesses said spectators fell to the ground and some were trampled by the crowd.
"Recent reports raise serious concerns about whether your company took adequate steps to ensure the safety of the 50,000 concertgoers who attended Astroworld Festival," the lawmakers wrote in their letter to Rapino. "Experts have stated that Astroworld Festival organizers failed to heed warning signs."
The lawmakers have requested information by Jan. 7.
Live Nation said on Wednesday it was assisting local authorities in their investigation and will share information with the House committee as well.
"Safety is core to live events and Live Nation engages in detailed security planning in coordination with local stakeholders including law enforcement, fire and EMT professionals", it said in an emailed statement.
At least 200 lawsuits have been filed against Scott, Live Nation and others involved in the event.
Adding to its measurement problems over the last year, Nielsen now says there has been under-reporting of out-of-home viewers since September 2020. That's due to an “error,” but, according to MediaPost, the company says the misstep has had “no impact to most telecasts,” except for some live sports events.
"As part of routine testing and quality controls, we recently identified an error that caused an understatement of reported out-of-home audiences for our national TV service,” says Nielsen in a statement provided to Television News Daily.
Nielsen did not reveal the data level of under-counting of OOH viewers. The media measurement company did say:
“While there is no impact to most telecasts, and no impact to local television, we did find some variances for events that tend to yield larger out-of-home audiences, such as live sporting events. The error has been corrected and Nielsen will be reissuing data from September 2020 to the present in order to provide the industry with the most complete data."
In response, the VAB, the TV network advertising association, was irate -- especially considering that Nielsen admitted to a broader level of under-counting earlier this year at its national TV measurement service. The VAB initially disclosed the discrepancies in a series of press conferences starting in April.
This came as a result of widespread COVID-19 pandemic disruptions since March 2020, which limited access of Nielsen field engineers in its national panel of 40,000 TV homes to do regular maintenance.
“Today’s announcement by Nielsen of more systemic errors that have further under-counted TV ratings for the last 16 months is unfathomable, both for Nielsen and the buyers and sellers that use Nielsen data as trading currency,” says Sean Cunningham, president-CEO of VAB.
Cunningham adds that Nielsen's efforts to build a high-end cross-platform measurement service -- Nielsen One -- should be put in doubt.
As a result of the under-counting during the pandemic period, the Media Rating Council -- the nonprofit organization that manages accreditation for media research and rating companies -- pulled accreditation of both Nielsen National TV and Local TV services.
Lotus Seattle has appointed Lisa Adams as its new Program Director for it recently acquired AC KPLZ Star 101.5 FM. Adams, a Pacific Northwest native and 30+ year radio veteran, has worked in west coast markets including Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, Portland, Boise, Seattle and points in between. She most recently comes from Cumulus Media AC KQFC-FM (Magic 97.9)/Boise, ID, where she served as both Program Director and midday host.
Lisa Adams
Adams commented, “I’m incredibly grateful and so excited to be granted this opportunity to program KPLZ. This radio station has always held a special place in my heart. I can’t wait to get started doing amazing radio again in Seattle. As an added bonus, my family is from here and this gives us a chance to be closer to them.”
Adams is a mom of 3 boys, 2 dogs and 2 cats. She and her family love to travel. Additionally, she is a certified life and wellness coach. Adams is wildly passionate about live music, craft vodkas, and quality time with her family. She also spends time with non-profits and supporting causes around skin cancer, autism, bullying, animals, the environment, and the arts.
Lotus Regional Director of Programing Mike Abrams said, “Lisa in an exceptional programmer and understands the amazing vision we have for KPLZ. We are so happy to have her at the helm of this legendary station for its next chapter.”
Cases of the omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus have now been confirmed in all 50 states, according to NBC News. The highly contagious strain overtook delta as the dominant variant only this past Monday. The number of hospitalizations for treatment of the virus set records in Maine, New Hampshire, Ohio and Wisconsin. In South Africa, where the variant was first detected, case numbers dropped significantly this week, offering a ray of hope.
➤SUPREME COURT TO CONSIDER BIDEN VAX MANDATES: The Supreme Court late Wednesday agreed to hear legal challenges to the Biden administration’s Covid-19 vaccine mandates for large employers and health-care facilities. The court, in an order, said that its consideration for requests to stay those mandates would be deferred until oral argument on Jan. 7.
➤FIRST COVID PILL APPROVED: The first prescription pill to treat COVID-19 has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The Pfizer drug, called Paxlovid, will be available for adults and children ages 12 and over with mild to moderate COVID symptoms. It will be prescribed in order to prevent more severe illness. The company says Paxlovid can significantly reduce hospitalizations and deaths among people at high risk.
Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon carjacked at gunpoint in Philadelphia https://t.co/jrPSbA7bVl
➤CONGRESSWOMAN CARJACKED IN PHILADELPHIA: Congressional Representative Mary Gay Scanlon, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, was carjacked at gunpoint yesterday afternoon as she left a meeting. Representative Scanlon was not injured. The FBI and Philadelphia police are investigating.
➤BIDEN TEASES 2024 RUN: President Biden said he plans to run for reelection in 2024 if he remains in good health. In an interview on ABC World News Tonight, he hinted he would particularly like a rematch against former President Donald Trump. "Why would I not run against Donald Trump for the nominee? That'll increase the prospect of running," he said.
Pres. Biden to @DavidMuir on January 6th: "I think accountability is necessary."
Muir: "And that means if it goes right into the previous administration?"
Biden: "No matter where it goes. Those responsible should be held accountable." https://t.co/mrsIZg44kw
➤STUDENT LOAN PAYMENT FREEZE EXTENDED: The freeze on student loan repayments has been extended for an additional 90 days, to May 1. President Joe Biden made the announcement yesterday. The balances due on student loans, and the interest owed, have been frozen since March 2020 to relieve the financial stress caused by the pandemic. This is the latest of several extensions.
Today, I announced my Administration is extending the pause on federal student loan repayments for an additional 90 days. pic.twitter.com/mxveCTe7bH
🛍HOLIDAY SHOPPERS BEAT THE RUSH: American consumers heard those early warnings of a global supply chain backup loud and clear. Many people got their holiday shopping done early and sent off their packages in plenty of time, according to The New York Times. The U.S. Postal Service, UPS and FedEx all report significantly improved delivery time. The Postal Service and UPS were on time with 99% of their deliveries, and FedEx was on time 97% of the time in the two weeks after Thanksgiving.
🌞SCIENTISTS PINPOINT WHEN THE SUN WILL EXPLODE: Our sun is going to implode one day, and our entire solar system will be destroyed when it does. Don't fret, though. Scientists say it won't happen for another five billion years. Our sun is middle-aged, given the lifespan of giant celestial balls of fire, being about five billion years old already, a scientist at the Center for Astrophysics told Live Science.
🛫ONE IN FIVE PASSENGERS FAIL TO SHOW UP FOR FLIGHTS IN RUN-UP TO CHRISTMAS: It’s no secret that COVID-19 infections have ramped back up in recent weeks, and this is causing people to back out of their holiday plans. European aviation body Eurocontrol reports that since the Omicron’s emergence in late November, air travel in Europe had been at around 75 percent of 2019 levels. Eurocontrol’s Eamonn Brennan says, “Now we’re tracking at 74 percent. But ‘no shows’ are about 20 percent. People don’t want to take the risk of travel.” Manchester Airports Group corporate strategy director Paul Willis adds, “Pre-Omicron we were at about 70 percent of pre-Covid passenger levels. We’ve seen that dramatically reduce because of the testing regime in place. We’re probably down at 45 percent of pre-COVID levels now.” As a result, many airlines are expected to slash their capacity in the New Year due to ongoing travel confusion and last-minute travel bans.
🙋STUDY..TAKING PART IN A CHRISTMAS CONCERT CAN MAKE YOU HAPPIER: With the current state of the world this might not be an option, but it’s an idea to tuck away for the future. Researchers in the UK polled 1,000 people attending Christmas services at Liverpool Cathedral before and at the end of the service, and found that people scored significantly higher on measures of happiness, mental health and wellbeing at the end of the service. University of Warwick researchers say this could mean that taking part in a Christmas concert, or attending a Christmas religious service could potentially make you happier.
🏈TEXAS A&M CAN'T PLAY GATOR BOWL: Texas A&M has announced that it cannot play in the 77th Gator Bowl on December 31st because of an outbreak of COVID-19 combined with season-ending injuries on the team. There's no decision yet on how to proceed but a replacement team to play against Wake Forest is one option being considered.
Due to a combination of COVID-19 issues within the program, as well as season-ending injuries, the Texas A&M football roster is not in a position to safely participate in the upcoming Dec. 31 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl against Wake Forest.
🏈COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEMIFINALS MAY BE DECIDED BY FORFEIT: Immediately after Texas A&M's announcement, officials of the College Football Playoff said it would not reschedule its New Year's Eve semifinal matchups. Any team that is unavailable to play will forfeit the game, with the opposing team automatically advancing to the January 10th national title game. If two opposing teams can't play, the winner of the other semifinal will be declared champion. If three teams can't play, the remaining team will be declared champion.
As of now, number one Alabama is set to play number four Cincinnati, and number 2 Michigan will play number 3 Georgia on Dec. 31. If necessary, the game will be delayed, but no later than January 14th.
🏈2022 PRO BOWL ROSTERS FINALIZED: The complete rosters for the 2022 Pro Bowl were announced by the NFL on Wednesday. The Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers both have six picks to participate. The Game will be played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on February 6th.
The Independent Broadcasters Association (IBA) has elected four new members its Board of Directors, announced Ron Stone, Executive Director of the IBA.
The new Board members are:
Tom Burns, Owner, Technicom & Sauk Valley Broadcasting
Gary Berkowitz, President, Berkowitz Broadcast Consulting
Steve Clendenin, Owner & General Manager, WHGM-AM/FM
Jim Jacobs, President, Radio Richmond, LLC.
The election took place between November and December. The new board members will serve beginning January 1, 2020, for a three-year term.
Stone said “The IBA is committed to having a Board that is representative of its members and elected by the members. Every year, one-third of the Board turns over to keep fresh ideas flowing. No existing Board member may serve more than one three-year term. This is our first election since the IBA was formed in April 2020, and we had over a dozen candidates that accepted nomination to fill the four open seats.”
Berkowitz stated, “I am very energized to join the IBA board. I look forward to working with all the members as we go into another year of making great radio.”
Jim Jacobs added, “In an incredibly short period of time, the hard work of the Independent Broadcasters Association has shown remarkable growth. I am looking forward to working with the IBA Board and being a part of what promises to be an even brighter future.”
Outgoing board members are:
David Stephens, Owner, Stephens Media Group
Michael J. Flood, Owner, Flood Communications, LLC
Deborah Barrera, CPA, CGMA, CFO, R Communications LLC
Cindy Taylor Chesson, GM, River Radio Network/Bridge Media/Ohio Midland Newsgroup.
“The entire board and membership send best wishes for future success for all the outgoing members and thanks them for their contributions during the first 18 months of the IBA,” Stone concluded.
John Stokes, Bob Lacey, and Jim Szoke will be inducted at the station’s 100th Anniversary ceremony on April 9, 2022. WBT Hall of Fame members H.A. Thompson and John Hancock were on hand for the announcement.
John Stokes joined WBT in September of 1987 as the station’s News Director. For over thirty years, Stokes anchored the news in morning drive on the station, covering everything from the PTL scandal to Hurricane Hugo to the September 11th terrorist attacks. His iconic, authoritative delivery defined the sound of WBT News for three decades. The original announcement of Stokes’ induction into the WBT hall of Fame was made upon his retirement from the station in 2019, but the celebration was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bob Lacey began his career at WBT in 1972 as one of the youngest regular on-air personalities ever on the station. Soon after, he began hosting the groundbreaking night-time talk show, “Lacey Listens.” Three years later, he was promoted to host mornings, where he and partner Harold Johnson brought an edgy, modern sound to start the station’s daily lineup. His top-rated show continued until 1980 when he moved onto television. Lacey ultimately returned to radio as part of the nationally syndicated “Bob & Sheri Show.”
Arriving at WBT in 1986, Jim Szoke later became the station’s Sports Director during a time of major growth for the region’s sports market, including the launches of Charlotte’s NBA and NFL franchises. In 1993, he helped secure the flagship station broadcast rights for WBT and two years later, he was named to the first-ever Carolina Panthers Radio Network crew, a role he still holds today. He has gone on to broadcast more games for the Panthers than any voice in the team’s history. Mornings, Afternoons, or during the game, Szoke has personified sports coverage on WBT across four decades.
The only member of the 100th Anniversary class to the WBT Hall of fame still actively on the air at the station, Szoke was surprised with the announcement of his inclusion into the station’s hallowed group. The surprise was so well kept, in fact, that he had actually left the station for the day and had to be called back to take part in the celebration in his, Stokes’, and Lacey’s honor.
The announcements were made Wednesday morning by Bo Thompson to kick off the station’s march towards its 100th Anniversary on Sunday, April 10, 2022, and the weekend of events being planned around the historic milestone.
Audacy raised over $640,000 for Texas Children’s National, part of the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, through a pair of radiothons in Dallas and Houston. KMVK La Grande 107.5 in Dallas raised $357,245 as part of their annual “La Grande Radiothon” on December 9 and 10 and KLOL Mega 101 FM in Houston tallied $288,099 during their annual “Mega Radiothon” on December 16 and 17.
“Even in particularly challenging times, the Hispanic community answered the call to support the great efforts of the Children's Miracle Network,” said Jimmy Gonzalez, Spanish Format Captain, Audacy. “We are so proud to join them in making a meaningful difference for these children and their families through the hospitals and their awe-inspiring mission.”
➦In 1900...Canadian wireless expert Reginald Fessenden, working for the US Weather Service at Brant Rock, Mass. near Boston, broadcast the world’s first voice communications by AM (amplitude modulation) radio wave for a distance of 1.6 km between two 13 metre towers. He asked his assistant, ‘Is it snowing where you are, Mr. Thiessen?’
➦In 1907...the longtime host of ABC radio’s Breakfast Club, Don McNeill was born at Galena Illinois.
In Chicago during the early 1930s, McNeill was assigned to take over an unsponsored early morning variety show, The Pepper Pot, with an 8 a.m. timeslot on the NBC Blue Network. McNeill re-organized the hour as The Breakfast Club, dividing it into four segments which McNeill labeled "the Four Calls to Breakfast."
McNeill's revamped show premiered in 1933, combining music with informal talk and jokes often based on topical events, initially scripted by McNeill but later ad-libbed. In addition to recurring comedy performers, various vocal groups and soloists, listeners heard sentimental verse, conversations with members of the studio audience and a silent moment of prayer. The series eventually gained a sponsor in the Chicago-based meat packer Swift and Company, beginning February 8, 1941. McNeill is credited as the first performer to make morning talk and variety a viable radio format.
He died May 7, 1996 at age 88.
➦In 1922...the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) began daily newscasts on its radio service in the UK.
➦In 1926...radio station KEX in Portland Oregon began broadcasting. It has been a clear channel 50,000-watt powerhouse at 1190 KHz since 1941.
Some sources show that the station may have originally started broadcasting on 670 kHz. On November 11, 1928, KEX started broadcasting on 1180 kHz under the terms of FCC General Order 40. On March 29, 1941, the station moved to 1190 kHz under the terms of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA).
KEX was an NBC Blue Network affiliate, carrying its schedule of dramas, comedies, news, sports, game shows, soap operas and big band broadcasts during the Golden Age of Radio. In 1945, as the Blue Network became ABC, KEX's affiliation continued. KEX was the first station to give the voice of Bugs Bunny, Mel Blanc, his own show. Blanc's Cobwebs & Nuts program debuted June 15, 1933, and ran Monday through Saturday from 11 p.m. to midnight.
The Oregonian Publishing Company, which owned The Morning Oregonian newspaper, acquired KEX in 1933. From 1934 to 1943, the station's studios were located in The Oregonian Building, in space shared with co-owned KGW, now KPOJ, which was the NBC Red Network affiliate in Portland. Westinghouse Broadcasting expanded to the West Coast in 1944 with its purchase of KEX, then running 5,000 watts, and sharing its frequency with another Westinghouse station, WOWO in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
In 1948, Westinghouse got the FCC to increase KEX's power to 50,000 watts, day and night. Also in 1948, Westinghouse put KEX-FM on the air at 92.3 MHz (the frequency is now utilized by KGON). KEX-FM mostly simulcasted KEX. But few people had FM radios in those days and KEX-FM was taken off the air in the early 1960s.
Also in the early 1960s, as network programming shifted from radio to television, KEX began airing a mix of middle of the road music, talk, news and sports.
Having reached the FCC's then-limit of seven AM stations, Westinghouse sold KEX to actor and singer Gene Autry's media company, Golden West Broadcasters, in 1967. In 1984, KEX was acquired by Taft Broadcasting. Taft became Citicasters in 1993, which was merged into Clear Channel Communications in 1999. Clear Channel was the forerunner to current owner iHeartMedia, Inc.
As music listening switched to FM radio stations, KEX cut back on the songs it played till it became a true talk station by the late 1990s.
➦In 1928...a permanent coast-to-coast NBC Radio network was formed. NBC had been formed two years earlier by General Electric, Westinghouse and RCA, with David Sarnoff as its chief organizer.
NBC's network operations were officially launched with a gala broadcast beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern on November 15, 1926. Carl Schlegel of the Metropolitan Opera opened the inaugural broadcast, which also featured Will Rogers and Mary Garden. This broadcast, which included a remote link from KYW in Chicago, was coordinated through WEAF, and carried by twenty-two eastern and Midwestern stations, located as far west as WDAF in Kansas City, Missouri.
On January 1, 1927, NBC formally divided its programming into two networks, called the Red and the Blue. Legend has it that the color designations originated from the push-pins early engineers used to mark affiliates of WEAF (red pins) and WJZ (blue pins), or from the use of double-ended red and blue colored pencils.
The two NBC networks did not have distinct identities or "formats", and, beginning in 1929, they shared use of the distinctive three-note "NBC chimes". The NBC Red Network, with WEAF as its flagship station and a stronger line-up of affiliated stations, often carried the more popular, "big budget" sponsored programs. The Blue Network and WJZ carried a somewhat smaller line-up of often lower-powered stations and sold air time to advertisers at a lower cost. NBC Blue often carried newer, untried programs (which, if successful, often moved "up" to the Red Network), lower cost programs and unsponsored or "sustaining" programs (which were often news, cultural and educational programs). In many cities in addition to New York, the two NBC affiliated stations (Red and Blue) were operated as duopolies, having the same owners and sharing the same staff and facilities.
At this time, most network programs were owned by their sponsors and produced by advertising agencies. The networks had limited control over their schedules, as advertisers bought available time periods and chose which stations would carry a program regardless of what other sponsors might broadcast in other time periods. Networks rented out studio facilities used to produce shows and sold air-time to sponsors. The only network-produced programs were unsponsored programs used to fill unsold time periods (affiliated stations had the option to "break away" from the network to air a local program during these periods) but the network had the "option" to take back the time period if a network sponsor wanted the time period.
On April 5, 1927 NBC reached the West Coast with the launching of the NBC Orange Network, which rebroadcast Red Network programming to the Pacific states and had as its flagship station KGO in San Francisco. NBC Red then extended its reach into the Midwest by acquiring two 50,000–watt clear-channel signals, Cleveland station WTAM on October 16, 1930 and Chicago station WMAQ by 1931. On October 18, 1931, Blue Network programming was introduced along the NBC Gold Network, which broadcast from San Francisco's KPO. In 1936 the Orange Network name was dropped and affiliate stations became part of the Red Network. The Gold Network adopted the Blue Network name.
In a major move in 1931, RCA signed crucial leases with the new Rockefeller Center management that resulted in it becoming the lead tenant of what was to become in 1933 its corporate headquarters, the RCA Building, at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
➦In 1947... Today is the official birth date for the invention of the transistor by scientists John Bardeen, Walter H. Brattain and William Shockley in a lab in New Jersey. The trio were honored for this milestone with the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics.
➦In 1982..actor Jack Webb, creator & star of Dragnet, died as a result of a heart attack at age 62.
He started in radio as a deejay & failed comic, then found success as the lead in “Pat Novack For Hire.” In 1949 he started playing Sgt. Joe Friday on NBC radio, taking “Dragnet” to TV in 1951, where it continued until 1959.
A second run of the show began in 1967, during which Webb developed the spin-off “Adam 12.”
➦In 1987..."Good Morning, Vietnam" opened in movie theaters.
Set in Saigon in 1965, during the Vietnam War, the film stars Robin Williams as a radio DJ on Armed Forces Radio Service, who proves hugely popular with the troops, but infuriates his superiors with what they call his "irreverent tendency". The story is loosely based on the experiences of AFRS radio DJ Adrian Cronauer.
Most of Williams' performances that portrayed Cronauer's radio broadcasts were improvisations. The film was a critical and commercial success; for his work in the film, Williams won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor, a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
The film also featured Forest Whitaker, Bruno Kirby, and J.T. Walsh.
Stan Brooks
➦In 2013...Stan Brooks, longtime newsman at 1010 WINS NYC died.
He was 86, and had worked until a month before his death, delivering his last report from City Hall on Nov. 20.
Brooks joined WINS as news director in 1962, when it was still one of the dominant Top40 music stations in the country, with a lineup of popular disc jockeys including Murray Kaufman, known as Murray the K.
When Westinghouse Electric Corporation, the station’s owners, decided to make WINS an all-news operation soon after Brooks’s arrival, he helped assemble the staff and lay the groundwork for one of the first all-news radio stations in the country — and the first in the city.
The switch took place on April 19, 1965. The blackout on Nov. 9 that year, which plunged most of the Northeast into darkness, put Brooks’s news team on the aural map.
WINS was one of the few radio outlets that managed to stay on the air. From a 19th-floor studio in Midtown Manhattan, Brooks and his reporters broadcast news and information throughout the night.
After several years as an executive and then a national correspondent for the Westinghouse Broadcasting radio station system, Brooks became a local reporter at WINS in 1970.
In understated dispatches between 30 seconds and one minute long, he reported on plane crashes, race riots, municipal near-bankruptcies, the tall ships, the Son of Sam, the Attica prison uprising and every mayoral administration from John V. Lindsay to Michael R. Bloomberg.
He liked the precision of short-form journalism. “When you’ve got 35 seconds, you’ve got to tell people what they need right away,” he said in an interview last year. “You want to get to the spine of the story.”
Gordon Hinckley
➦In 2013...Gordon Hinkley, whose Milwaukee radio career spanned more than a half voice was as familiar as an old friend to thousands of listeners, died at age 88. Known as the “Granddaddy of Milwaukee radio,” his “Ask Your Neighbor” show ran on WTMJ 620 AM for more than 30 years.
Susan Lucci is 75
🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:
Actor Ronnie Schell (“Gomer Pyle, USMC”) is 90.
Anna Maria Lerez de Tagle is 31
Actor Frederic Forrest (“Lonesome Dove”) is 85.
Guitarist Jorma Kaukonen (Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna) is 81.
Actor-comedian Harry Shearer (“The Simpsons”) is 78.
Actor Susan Lucci (“All My Children”) is 75.
Musician Adrian Belew (King Crimson) is 72.
Guitarist Dave Murray of Iron Maiden is 65.
Actor Joan Severance (TV’s “Wiseguy”) is 63.
Singer Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam is 57.
Jazz trumpeter Irvin Mayfield is 44.
Actor Anna Maria Perez de Tagle (“Hannah Montana,” ″Camp Rock”) is 31.
Actor Spencer Daniels (“Mom”) is 29.
Actor Caleb Foote (TV’s “The Kids Are Alright”) is 28.
Last month's CMA Awards encapsulated the country music industry's recent efforts to put a more diverse group of artists in the spotlight. Now the Country Music Association has mapped out ways to potentially bring more listeners in, as well.
The Tennessean reports a new CMA-commissioned study by Horowitz Research — "Country Music's Multicultural Opportunity" — examines the listening habits of Black, Latinx, Asian and white audiences, as well as the reasons non-country music listeners have for not engaging with the genre.
According to the study, 6 in 10 U.S. adults listen to country music at least monthly, and that drops to 5 in 10 when narrowing the group to non-white listeners.
U.S. adults are divided into four segments: Core listeners, casual listeners, non-rejectors and rejectors. All but the rejectors are considered "potential listeners" — a segment that makes up 55 percent of the Black audience, 46 percent of Latinx, 54 percent of Asian and 75 percent of white listeners.
All told, country music's potential aggregate audience includes more than 164 million U.S. adults, according to the study.
It also explores "reasons for not listening to country music," and Black, Latinx and Asian participants all shared the top three (and very similar) answers in common: "Just not that into it," "Not top-of-mind" and "Can't relate to the vibe."
Thirty-seven percent of Black non-listeners responded that country artists "don't build POC fans," while roughly one-third of all segments said country lyrics were "not relatable."
Among the most striking reasons: "Wouldn't be safe/comfortable at live event," which was cited by 28 to 31 percent of all non-white segments. (21 percent of white participants agreed.)
A majority of country's "core listeners" across all segments agreed that the genre is becoming more diverse. Among the general population, however, that percentage dips to 36 percent of Asian and Latinx and 40 percent of Black U.S. adults.
Finally, the study explores potential actions that could make a positive impact and grow engagement among all audiences. The most popular solution among white, Latinx and Asian participants: more collaborations between country and non-country artists.
Black participants' top answer was for the industry to do "more to celebrate cultural diversity." They also prioritized having a diverse pool of artists, the country industry doing more to address racial/social justice issues, and more recognition of the music's Black roots.
At last month's CMA Awards, Jimmie Allen became the second Black artist in history to win the New Artist of the Year prize. Country act Brothers Osborne was named Duo of the Year for the first time since lead vocalist T.J. Osborne came out as gay, and Black artists Mickey Guyton, Brittney Spencer and Madeline Edwards performed the self-acceptance anthem "Love My Hair."
The CMA has also established a Diversity, Equality and Inclusion task force. In its mission statement, the group says country music "is rooted in values of community and family built on contributions from diverse backgrounds."
"CMA is committed to amplifying those traditions by building an inclusive crowded table that embraces and celebrates differences across race, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, beliefs and identities."
As 2021 comes to an end, the Westwood One looked back at the blog posts that resonated the most. Here are the top 5 most popular audio insights posts of the year in descending order:
5. Let’s Roll: Why America’s Auto Dealers Need To Increase Their AM/FM Radio Advertising To Reach Consumers Who Are Ready To Buy: In April, reports from The Conference Board, Apple, Ipsos, and The New York Times showed that the economy was returning to normal with increased consumer confidence, commuting, and optimism. For the auto industry, this meant Americans were primed to make purchases. Wesrwood One's 5th most popular blog post showed that heavy AM/FM radio listeners are more likely than heavy TV viewers to make a major auto purchase. It also outlined findings from a LeadsRx AM/FM radio attribution report showing how campaigns generated significant auto dealer website traffic.
4. The Westwood One 2021 Audioscape: Who Are Podcast Listeners?: The 4th most popular blog post answered a simple question about podcast listeners, an audience advertisers and brands were increasingly interested in this year. Who are they? Using data from Edison Research’s “Share of Ear” study and Nielsen’s Scarborough USA+, the Westwood One 2021 Audioscape report revealed that the podcast audience is young, employed, educated, and upscale.
Edison’s quarterly “Share of Ear” study is the authoritative examination of American audio time use. The Q3 2021 report provided an opportunity to look back over five years to understand the shifts in U.S. listening. Looking at ad-supported audio, the data showed AM/FM radio’s dominance, podcasts and AM/FM radio streaming represented all of the growth, Pandora was down, and Spotify stagnated.
2. The State Of TV: Cord Cutting, Viewership Declines, And Older Audiences Mean Advertisers Need AM/FM Radio For Incremental Reach And The Light TV Viewer: This year the television landscape underwent ongoing changes as audience viewing habits continued to shift from linear TV to ad-free streaming options. Major players like WarnerMedia, NBCU, ViacomCBS, and Disney spent 2021 pouring resources into their video subscription services at the expense of their broadcast TV and cable networks. What did this mean for advertisers who have historically used TV in their media plans for mass reach? Westwood One's blog look at the state of TV, cord cutting, viewership declines, and older audiences outlined the implications and offered a solution for advertisers – AM/FM radio.
And the most popular post…
1. Perception vs. Reality: Eight Things Brands Have Completely Wrong About AM/FM Radio: The perception of media audiences has always been skewed by prevalent myths in the ad community. In our most popular blog of the year, the narrative about AM/FM radio was challenged using evidence from research leaders Nielsen, the Federal Reserve, and Edison Research. Eight of the biggest perceptions brands hold were disproved with the facts on AM/FM radio listening levels and in-car consumption, commuting habits during the pandemic, the audience share of major audio platforms, AM/FM radio’s ability to generate incremental reach and ROI across various categories, and during which dayparts AM/FM radio listening actually takes place.
The fast-spreading omicron variant of COVID-19 has lead to Fox cancelling their New Year's Eve Toast & Roast 2022 this year.
Comedians and former Community co-stars Joel McHale hosted last year's telecast (replacing Steve Harvey who hosted a previous special) and they were slated to host again this year as well from New York City's Times Square.
Fox released a statement where they indicated they were 'confident' in their safety protocols, though omicron just proved to be too much to handle.
'While we are confident in the health and safety protocols for Fox's New Year's Eve Toast & Roast 2022, the recent velocity of the spread of Omicron cases has made it impossible to produce a live special in Times Square that meets our standards,' a statement from Fox began.
We will not be moving forward with Fox's New Year's Eve Toast & Roast 2022 in New York,' the statement continued.
Just hours before canceling the show, though, Fox released a new promo for the special, featuring both McHale and Jeong.
The video billed the special as, 'an event two pandemic years in the making,' which also revealed the 'iHeartRadio performances' from Imagine Dragons, Maroon 5, Billy Idol and Pink, with Trace Adkins set to perform live.
Fox hasn't revealed what they will replace the live special with, but said they will announce alternative programming soon.
Fired CNN producer John Griffin tried to “deceive, delete, and spend his way out of being held accountable” for his alleged sex crimes against a minor, reports The NY Post citing new court documents.
Griffin, 44, was indicted this month by a federal grand jury in Vermont for attempting to “induce minors to engage in unlawful sexual activity,” and allegedly bragged about luring girls as young as 7 to his home for “sexual subservience” training.
The former producer who boasted about working “shoulder to shoulder” with Chris Cuomo was fired by CNN following his arrest and is facing up to 10 years in prison for each of the three counts he is facing in charges involving a 9-year-old girl.
In a motion to keep him in jail until his trial, US Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest said Griffin’s detention is crucial to community safety. He is “a wealthy man who is desperate to avoid facing justice” with a history of mental illness, substance abuse and alleged sexual assault of minor, Kerest said, who cited Jeffrey Epstein court docs in the motion.
The motion, filed Monday, offers more details about Griffin’s alleged actions, including that he offered a woman $30,000 in January 2020 for a mother-and-daughter getaway. In March 2020, he offered another woman $1,200 for sex, saying he would up the payment to $5,000 “if the kids are in the room,” the feds said.
Prosecutors said in their complaint that Griffin, of Stamford, Connecticut, attempted to lure at least four girls, ages 16, 14, 13 and 9, to his Vermont ski house for “training sessions” on such things as “spanking” and “c–k worship,” reportedly saying a “woman is a woman regardless of her age.”
Griffin allegedly told Heather Carriker, a mother of two daughters, that she needed to ensure her girls were “trained properly,” the DOJ said. Then, in July 2020, he allegedly gave Carriker $3,000 to fly with her 9-year-old from their home in Henderson, Nevada, to Boston, where he picked the two up and brought them to his $2.5 million Vermont mansion. During the visit, “the daughter was directed to engage in, and did engage in, unlawful sexual activity,” the DOJ said, that Carriker, 48, was also a part of.
Feds said in the Monday filing that “there is no set of conditions that can assure the Court of [Griffin’s] continued appearance or address the danger he presents if released.”
“He has dishonestly tried to talk his way out of being held accountable. He has tried to buy his way out of trouble,” they wrote.
